The latest from the west coast

Time for an update!

Adam is doing so well at preschool. He now just waltzes in there with barely a glance back at me to say, "bye Mom". He started full days this week, and will be full days three days a week from here on in. He was really tired the first day, but he was already much better on Wednesday so I think he'll get used to it really fast. His potty training has really come a long ways in the last month! He now usually tells us when he has to go pee (and if he doesn't use words, at the very least he is grabbing his crotch which lets us know it's time:)). He now poops in the potty about half the time! This is tremendous progress! I think he's finally starting to understand what to do! Very exciting for us:).

Nathan has been a bit of a pain in the sleep department lately, getting up really early and often not napping very long - how I hate these stages where they don't need much sleep! It sounds like he is starting to try to put two words together sometimes! He hasn't hit any kind of "word explosion" yet, but definitely we are hearing new words from him from time to time. So busy, so very busy . . . he is keeping me on my toes! Any illusion I had of relaxing times when it was just me and him during the day have flown out the window:).

Lynsey is adjusting well to Grade one. I am curious to meet with her teacher (not sure when but I think that's coming up soon) to hear how she thinks she's doing. She is making friends, and the little girl two doors down is becoming a pretty solid friend for her. They've had a few playdates already and have another one today! The coolest thing - the little girl's mom (Ariana is the little girl's name, Jaqui is her Mom's name), invited me to a Mom's night out event at her church the other night! They are a group of moms with preschool aged children that meet twice a month and do playdates etc. - just what I was looking for! I went and had a great time! And how totally cool that the little girl that Lynsey bonded with is from a church-going family:). We are going to check out the church they go to possibly this weekend. I went to a different church last weekend with just Lynsey, and it went pretty well, but I am totally open to trying a different place where we actually have a small connection now. It's hard to find a church. You feel so awkward because everyone else seems to know each other. This church where the Mom's group is is a pretty big church, I would guess it's a bit like Center Street Church in Calgary. We will see how it goes. It's nice to feel like I have my foot in the door to making some friendships and even finding a church family!

Our friends James and Sarah are coming to visit this weekend! I am so excited to talk to some familiar people soon! It's weird to not talk to anyone familiar for over a month (face to face anyway). I am starting to feel more and more comfortable here, though. Now that we are getting into a routine and I am learning where to go shopping (this I am still having a bit of trouble with, but it's getting better!), it's starting to feel like home. Our car finally got picked up in Calgary this week! It might still take a month to get here, but we are counting down so Brian can start driving to work. The bus adds close to half an hour each way to his commute because of all the walking he has to do.

I thought I had more to report, but I think that's it! So happy to be unpacked and 99% organized and can focus on doing life here. Oh I did get my Washington Driver's License today finally! Woot! Now to get the van registered and insured . . . insurance will be easy, already have it lined up, but I don't know about registration. Maybe this will be the ONE thing that will be way easier than we thought!!:)

Trip down the Oregon coast, starting school, settling in

Our Labour Day weekend was a lot of fun! We were not settling into our new place the way I had HOPED we would be, but took a nice drive and stayed in Tillamook, Oregon overnight. We stopped at Long Beach, Washington on the way (where all the beach pictures are). What a beautiful beach! How exciting that we have such beautiful beaches so close to us now! The kids loved it. We weren't really prepared to stay at the beach for the day so it was a bit of a mess getting them all cleaned up without towels etc. (smart I know!) but it worked out okay. I had always wanted to see Cannon Beach, and now I have:). We will be back for sure!

The kids started school on Tuesday! I felt a bit disoriented not having our stuff, but it worked out okay. Adam was a bit upset the first day, but he recovered so fast! And every day after that this last week he has gotten better and better! I am so proud of how much he has grown up in the last year. I have a good feeling about his school, the staff seems really competent and friendly and I just feel like it's the right place for him right now. He is only going in the mornings right now, but starting in a week, he will be going three afternoons a week as well. I hope he adjusts well to such long days! I guess we will see. Lynsey is having fun at her new school as well. She has made a friend from a Kindergarten class that she plays with at recess, and apparently a few other friends here and there. We are encouraging her to try really hard to make friends in her class (just discovered that a girl in her class lives only two doors down from us!) but we can't force her to do anything. The first few days were a bit frustrating for me because she lost my good water bottle on the playground (why did she have it you ask? Hers wasn't here yet!) and almost lost her sweater, luckily that turned up in the lost and found. The staff at the school seems really friendly and I think she will do just fine there. I look forward to a time when I am not so busy with organizing and getting my bearings in a new place, and I can actually concentrate on meeting people and building somewhat of a community there. It will take some effort, but we have to start meeting people some time! Haven't gone to church yet, I have decided that next Sunday will be the day we check one out. It's hard to think about meeting our social needs when so many other needs are just barely being met in such a chaotic time! We'll get there:).

We finally have our stuff. The saga is over. Sort of. We discovered that our TV doesn't work which is a real bummer, but we've already decided that if the insurance process is going to be a huge headache we are just going to go ahead and buy a new one. Anyway, our stuff was supposed to come Wednesday morning, but of course, there was a hiccup and the truck didn't come until about 5:30pm. They were here unloading until about 9:30pm and we got to sleep in our bed that night! Yay! They came back the next morning to finish unloading and help unpack and set up furniture. I know it's expensive to hire movers and get them to pack and unpack, but I have to tell you, that service saved our lives over this move. They don't organize, but even just having them take things out of boxes and get rid of all the paper and boxes and everything was a huge help! We are basically unpacked now, the only boxes left are boxes of books. I still have a lot of organizing to do, but it's not so daunting now. I feel like it's achievable to just do a bit every day. And having our living room set up makes me feel like it's actually a home! Yep, starting to feel like we live here and aren't just temporarily here. Don't know if that makes me feel more happy or more terrified right now, I think it might be an equal combination of both!